GAAI AsiaPAcific

A gay Bangladeshi couple have been battling to gain citizenship in Australia for 10 years. The Refugee Review Tribunal knocked back their claims three times, and three times a higher court has overturned the rulings.

The two men fled to Australia in 1999 after they were beaten, dragged out of their shared home, held up against a wall and pelted with stones. They escaped by crawling through a sewer. This incident was the most serious of the many assaults the lovers received.

Bangladesh has penalties for gay sexual acts. Section 377 of the Bangladesh penal code, inherited from British rule, makes "intercourse against the order of nature" a crime.

Escaping persecution, on their flight to Australia the couple ticked "married" on their visa papers. They had fallen in love four years before, moved in together, and faced attacks from homophobic community members. They ticked "married" because they considered themselves married to each other.

 Hits: 230   Read Comments (0)

Recently I received an email from the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a US organisation based in - where else but San Francisco, that has been prominent in what its name stands for.

A couple of years ago I went to their offices and met amongst others Shannon Minter, the legal director. Shannon has recently won an award for his contributions, including as lead counsel in the California marriage case. Shannon, who hails from Texas, seemed quite surprised when I mentioned that Queensland was twice as big.

I digress.

The recent email said that the NCLR was helping an HIV positive Pakistani man claim asylum in the US because of the fear of persecution in Pakistan, where engaging in sodomy attracts the death penalty.

This reminded me of cases here where Bangladeshi gay men have obtained asylum based on their of persecution if they were to return home.

The most recent is the Refugee Review Tribunal case of 0801885. This involved a Bangladeshi man who said that he could not return to Bangladesh because he was openly gay and was afraid that he would be persecuted if he returned. The Tribunal recognised that he was a refugee.

 Hits: 343   Read Comments (0)

Bangladesh has been on the pages of the western media of late, mostly due to political violence, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, and attacks on minorities. One of the minorities rarely mentioned in any media, Bangladeshi or western is the gay/lesbian population of the country. It is a topic seldom discussed anywhere, very rarely even in progressive circles. It is not that the estimated more than 10 million gay/lesbian Bangladeshis are having a great time in Bangladesh. Instead, they are constantly on the vigilance, having to watch behind their backs for fear of being found out. In the process their lives and those who are dependent on them are being ruined.

A new visitor from abroad may be struck by the open display of physical affection between same genders in Bangladesh. On the surface it can appear to be quite a friendly environment for gay people. After all, in how many western countries would you be able to see grown men walking hand in hand throughout the city streets? In the early evenings the scene is even more romantic where a stroll in the park reveals groups or pairs of young men singing love songs to each other, some of them even acting out some scene from a Bangla movie. How can one not be moved watching a man lying on the grass resting his head on another man's lap while listening to his love songs? One would think this is the paradise that gay men talk about. If only it were to be so.

 Hits: 247   Read Comments (0)

Bangladesh is perceived to be one of the few Islamic states which exercises considerable tolerance towards the issue of homosexuality.The instances of utilising Governmental instruments for persecuting Homosexuals is rare. But practising homosexuality is strictly prohibited by the law under Section 377 A of the CrPC (Criminal Penal Code).The law says- "Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman, or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall be liable to fine."

Moazzam Husain a notable lawyer of the Supreme Court in Bangladesh opined that penetration itself is sufficient to constitute "carnal intercourse" described in the law.Homosexuality is considered as "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" and hence the practicers are liable to prosecution on grounds of their sexuality alone.Here the private morality of the two consenting individuals is considered redundant and immaterial.He stated "Where sexual behaviour offending against natural order is an offence, consent is immaterial. In case of sexual behaviour contemplated in Section 377 of the Penal Code question of 'consenting adults', to my mind, is of no avail. There is no, at least I have not come across any, decision of the Supreme Court on this point."(DailyStar 5th October 2004)

 Hits: 216   Read Comments (0)